What and Why it matters.

1 Sept

BLOG SERIES PART 2

Contracts That Keep You Safe: Why Membership Agreements Protect Co-Working Spaces (and Why Chair Rental Contracts Don’t)**

In Switzerland, the fastest way for a hair, beauty, nail or tattoo business to drift into legal grey zones is through the wrong kind of contract.
Most problems do not start with the work itself — they start with paperwork that describes the wrong relationship.

A chair rental contract (Stuhlmiete Vertrag) often implies a rental structure that resembles a sublease within a salon. This model can easily trigger questions from SVA, Steueramt or the MWST authorities.

A co-working membership agreement, on the other hand, is the same type of document used across Zürich in hundreds of shared workspaces — from tech to therapy to design to consulting. It clearly defines independence, separates businesses properly, and matches how co-working actually functions.

This blog explains what to look for, what to avoid, and how both stylists and space owners can protect themselves through correct contract language.

Why Traditional Chair Rental Contracts Create Problems

Chair rental contracts commonly include:

a fixed, exclusive station
a “Mietvertrag” structure
wording that resembles subleasing
unclear boundaries between businesses
references to revenue, commissions or turnover
terms that restrict pricing or service decisions
language implying integration into the salon business

Authorities can interpret these signals as:

economic dependence
employment-like behaviour
a joint commercial operation
unclear VAT responsibility
turnover aggregation risk
pseudo self-employment

This is why so many stylists search online for Stuhlmiete legal Schweiz — because the model often doesn’t meet the criteria of real self-employment.

The issue is not the work.
The issue is the structure.

Co-Working Membership Agreements Solve These Issues

A proper co-working membership contract makes everything clear from the start. It reflects the same principles used by established Swiss co-working spaces such as Impact Hub, Westhive or Citizen Space.

A compliant membership agreement includes:

1. Clear independence
Each member operates under their own business name with full responsibility for their own clients, pricing, bookings, taxes, and insurance.

2. Access, not rental
Members purchase access to shared infrastructure for defined time blocks. They do NOT rent a fixed or exclusive station.

3. No revenue sharing
The Space Owner does not take a percentage of income and has no access to member turnover.

4. No employer-like control
The member decides their own services, prices, hours, and client communication.

5. Separate invoicing and receipts
Members issue receipts for their own services.
The space issues receipts only for workspace access or retail sales.

6. No collective branding requirement
Members may present themselves with their own brand identity.

7. No integration into the owner’s business
The contract makes it clear: the Space Owner provides infrastructure, not employment or business management.

These elements mirror the structure already accepted for co-working in Switzerland.

For Stylists: What You Should Look For in a Co-Working Agreement

If you're considering joining a space, check for the following:

Does the agreement call it “Miete”, “Stuhlmiete”, “Vermietung eines Arbeitsplatzes”?
That’s a red flag.
Does it guarantee you a fixed station?
Also a red flag — that is not co-working.
Does the owner require access to your revenue, pricing or client data?
Not compliant with independent self-employment.
Does the contract talk about “commission”, “percentage”, or “share of income”?
Very risky — avoid.

Positive signs include:

flexible workspace allocation
membership fees per time block
clear separation of responsibilities
separate invoicing
explicit statements of independence

If it reads like a normal co-working membership — you’re in the right place.

For Space Owners: What Your Contract Must NEVER Say

If you operate or plan to open a co-working space, remove the following terms immediately:

“Stuhlmiete”
“Mietvertrag”
“fixer Arbeitsplatz / fixer Stuhl”
“Umsatzbeteiligung”
“Provision”
“der Salon entscheidet …”
“Preise werden festgelegt durch …”

Replace them with:

“Mitgliedschaft”
“Zugang zu gemeinsam genutzter Infrastruktur”
“nicht-exklusive Nutzung”
“Eigenständiges Unternehmen”
“Mitglied bestimmt eigene Preise und Leistungen”
“Keine Umsatzbeteiligung, keine Provisionen”

This aligns you with recognized co-working standards in Zürich and protects both you and your members.

Why These Distinctions Matter to Swiss Authorities

Authorities do not focus on the industry.
They focus on the nature of the relationship.

A contract that looks like subleasing or employment leads to questions.

A contract that matches the well-understood co-working model is unproblematic, because Switzerland already accepts co-working in every sector — with thousands of independent workers using these agreements daily.

If a therapist at Citizen Space or a programmer at Impact Hub can operate independently inside a shared environment, a hairdresser or tattoo artist can too — as long as the structure is correct.

Conclusion: A Contract Is Not Just Paper — It Defines Your Business Model

For an owner, the contract protects your co-working structure.
For a stylist, the contract protects your independence.
For authorities, the contract demonstrates whether the relationship is compliant.

A membership agreement built around the co-working model keeps everything transparent, fair, and aligned with Swiss regulations.

In the next part of this series, we’ll look at how SVA and Steueramt evaluate self-employment inside co-working spaces — and the practical indicators they use.